In order to repeatedly dispense measured quantities of liquid in clinical and diagnostic laboratories, it is common today to utilize manual and electronic pipettes. In use, a technician grasps the body of a pipette and places a removable tip end thereof in the fluid to be aspirated and dispensed by the pipette. The technician either allows manual or motor actuated movement of a piston within the body of the pipette to draw a measured quantity of liquid into the pipette tip. The technician then reverses the movement of the piston to dispense a precise quantity of liquid into a receptacle. When the dispensing operation is complete, the removable tip is ejected from the pipette and a new tip inserted onto the tip end of the pipette.
When the pipette is not in use, it is usually placed on a counter or bench top or in a drawer of a table or on a shelf in the laboratory where the pipette is normally used. Because it is important to avoid damage to the delicate mechanisms comprising the pipette and to maintain the pipettes in close proximity to the technician for ready access for operation, various racks, stands, and carrousels have been developed for supporting pipettes on table and counter tops and even by hanging on walls.
Typical of the pipette stands are the "Pipettor Stand/Work Station" model 290-002 and "Pipettor Stand" model 290-001 of PCG Scientifics, Gathersburg, Md., and the "Scienceware Micropipettor Racks" catalog numbers 14-791-8A and 14-791-8D from Fischer Scientific of Pittsburgh, Pa. The Pipettor Stand-Work Station comprises a small cabinet for resting on a table or counter top. A top of the cabinet includes a plurality of openings for each vertically receiving a lower body portion of a pipette to support a series of pipettes when not in use. The Pipettor Stand includes a flat base for resting on a table or counter top and a sloping back carrying upper and lower support arms with vertically aligned front facing notches for receiving and supporting the main bodies of a plurality of pipettes. The Scienceware Micro Pipettor Racks include an L-shaped base for resting on a table or counter top with an upper lateral flange containing a series of top openings for receiving the lower body portion of a plurality of separate pipettes.
Typical of the wall mounted racks are the "Magnetic Pipet Holder" model 290-009 and the "Wall Mounted Pipettor Rack" models 01-024 and 01-026 of PCG Scientifics. The Magnetic Pipet Holder includes a flat support plate carrying a magnetic strip for attaching the support plate to a metal surface. Upper and lower arms extend forward from the support plate and include vertically aligned notches for receiving and supporting a plurality of pipettes. The Wall Mounted Pipettor Racks comprise metal racks with round or key-hole shaped top opening holes for vertically receiving and supporting a number of pipettes. The racks are attachable to a wall by screws or by double-sided tape.
Typical of a pipette carousel stand are the "Carousel Pipettor Stand" model 02-254 of PCG Scientifics and the "Carousel Pack GR-2" of the Rainin Instrument Co., Inc., the assignee of the present invention. Such pipette carousels include a base and a vertically extending pole with outwardly extending arms with notches for receiving and supporting a plurality of pipettes.
Each of the foregoing stands, racks and carousel pipette holders serve a useful purpose. However, they are each specially designed for a particular support setting. The stands, racks and carousel structures are designed for supporting a plurality of pipettes on a counter or a tabletop. The Magnetic Pipette Holder is specifically designed for attachment to a metal surface. The wall mounted racks are designed for attachment to a flat wall surface by screws or tape.
None of the foregoing pipette holders is designed to provide multiple modes of attachment to the various support surfaces commonly found in clinical and diagnostic laboratories such as the vertical front surfaces of refrigerators, cabinet doors, or fume hoods (all of which are usually formed of a ferrous material), or hollow walls or wooden surfaces or the edges of shelves or table tops. Accordingly, there is a need for a simple and inexpensive support apparatus for securely and safely supporting pipettes when not in use and which possesses the ability of attachment in a number of different manners to a number of different surfaces typically found in laboratory settings. The present invention satisfies such needs.